Snowflakes
by xxkoffeexx
Summary: On a snowy evening, they meet, look at each other and smile. YamaxHaru


**Flaking**

By xxkoffeexx

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Disclaimer: If I owned Reborn, these two would have been paired up and married TYL.

Summary: On a snowy evening they meet, look at each other and smile. [YamaHaru]

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They'd promised to make it back in time for Christmas, even though the forcast said winds would be up to so-so miles per hour, and the snow was falling so hard that Haru couldn't see anything but white outside of Tsuna's house's windows. I-pin offered to check their mission progress at HQ, but Kyoko said it was okay. Kyoko had a smile on her face that said she was prepared for whatever happens, and that she wasn't sad. She understood. It wasn't Tsuna's fault at all. And so she would smile and laugh along with Sawada Nana, who was waiting for both her husband and son to come home soon.

I-pin stayed with the girls, but Chrome went back to HQ and checked up on the Boss's progress. There was a message to Sasagawa Kyoko from the Tenth himself, and Chrome wrote it on stationary paper, just so it would seem more like a letter. _'I'll be home soon,'_ it said in Italian, _'so wait for me.'_

Hana, Bianchi and Haru saw the smile in Kyoko's eyes, and they all breathed out a sigh of relief. The boys were coming home.

But it seemed they would be home late, because dinner and dessert happened, and they washed the dishes and cleaned the table, and still not a single word from HQ. Bianchi and Chrome went ahead to the base at around midnight, saying they would wait for the boys there. Hana decided she would go with them, and she tucked the knitted sweater in her bag because she was sure Ryohei would need it. After they left, Nana suggested they sit in the livingroom where the fireplace was crackling warmly. Kyoko made four hot cocoa with marshmallows, and Haru brought blankets from the closet. I-pin turned on some Italian Christmas music.

They talked quietly in front of the fire, sipping cocoa and snuggling into the sofas under the cotton blankets. All but one light was turned off, so they could see the snowflakes piling on the window panes. The grandfather clock in the hall chimed one, and then two in the morning, and they didn't sleep. Nana refilled the cocoa and came back with a plate of cookies, joking that Santa might visit them tonight. I-pin laughed softly and both Kyoko and Haru smiled. The clock struck three.

I-pin fell asleep. She was curled up in a relaxed ball on the rocking chair, her hair unbraided and free. Nana and Kyoko sat nearest the fire, sitting on the loveseat whilst conversing in murmurs and soft chuckles. Haru sat on the floor in front of the grate, wrapped in two blankets and sometimes listening to the two women, sometimes gazing deep into the orange fire, lost in her thoughts. She remembered Yamamoto saying that if you stared into the fire long enough, you started seeing images that had nothing to do with fire. He claimed he could see raindrops in the fire. Haru wondered if seeing snowflakes was the same as rain.

The clock tolled four in the morning.

Kyoko looked up when Haru abruptly got to her feet, the blankets forming a little mountain around her legs. "What is it, Haru?"

"I need to go home," Haru said quietly so I-pin wouldn't wake up.

"Right now?" Kyoko didn't say that the boys would be home any time now, but the expression on her face said it. The women turned to look out the window, and it was still snowing lightly.

Haru was already getting her stuff, and she stopped to give Kyoko and Nana warm hugs. "Merry Christmas. Say hi to Tsuna-kun for me."

"Be careful on your way home," said Kyoko at the door, watching Haru put on her boots and scarf. "And say hi to Yamamoto-kun."

"Okay. Good morning."

"Good morning."

They smiled and waved goodbye. Haru made her way down the snowy, empty street slowly, tucking her hands in her coat pockets and breathing into her scarf. The sky was still dark and the street lamps were on, and Haru's breath came out in white puffs that melted the small snowflakes upon contact. She felt snowflakes cling to her hair and eyelashes, and her nose grew numb with cold. She should have felt lonely, but strangely, she felt very content.

What was it that gave her such contentment? She wondered if it was the Christmas dinner with Nana and the girls. She wondered if it was the completion of her last final test in college. Perhaps it was the letter that Tsuna sent Kyoko, reassuring her that he would return safe and sound in order to be with her.

Or maybe it was the sound of soft footsteps following her on the snow.

Haru grinned into her scarf, knowing who it was before even hearing his amused voice.

"Lovely hour to take a walk, eh?"

He'd found her immediately after arriving home, just as she'd expected. Haru turned and saw Yamamoto walking towards her from several yards away. He was still in the suit and coat he'd worn for the mission, and as proof that he'd just come back, his kantana was slung over his shoulder. She returned his smile and waited for him to come closer.

"I wanted to get home in time to welcome somebody back," she explained chirpily. He was only some feet away now, and she saw his nose and cheeks were flushed from either the cold or exercise.

"I wonder who that lucky person is."

He was standing in front of her now, and she looked up to meet his smiling eyes. Haru reached up with a bare hand and brushed some snowflakes from his hair. His gloved hand quickly caught it and he looked at her questioningly. "Where are your gloves?"

Haru gave him an innocent look. "I forgot to bring them. Hahi! It's so cold."

He laughed at her pout and took her other hand in his. "Then let me warm them up for you." He rubbed her smaller fingers gently between his gloves, blowing on them. Haru couldn't stifle a giggle as she watched him work diligently on her hands. It always tickled her when Yamamoto did these things.

As if reading her mind, he glanced up with a wry look. "Are you happy now? Your no-glove scheme worked out perfectly."

"I wasn't scheming! I just wanted to hold hands with you." Haru stuck out her tongue at him childishly.

A surprised look flashed through his eyes at her honesty. He held her hands a bit longer, and then dropped them. Before she could say anything, he took off one glove and put it on her other hand, so that only their bare hands were between them. Yamamoto linked his fingers with hers and put them in his coat pocket. He looked at her. "There. Better?"

"Mm. Much." Haru leaned into his arm as they began walking home. "Welcome back, Takeshi."

"I'm home," he smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

END

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A/N: Wow, it's been a while. I wanted to write something for Christmas, and I wanted to write a YamaxHaru sometime soon, so I came up with this one shot. Although it is delayed (by a lot) and its not very long, I hope you enjoyed reading it. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!


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